Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: The Empire's Divine Sword
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“This place...”
Seo Woojin marveled.
It was the second time he’d felt awe at the architecture of this era.
The first had been the Sky Tower.
That tower, piercing straight through the heavens, had been unreal in and of itself.
The next was the Divine Palace right before his eyes.
Its exterior was flashy and grand, but from Seo Woojin’s perspective, it wasn’t all that impressive.
He’d seen plenty like it on Earth in movies and animations.
Yet the reason Seo Woojin was struck with awe had nothing to do with that.
‘What kind of magic is this?’
It was the magic of the Divine Palace, as seen through his ‘Divine Dragon Eye’.
He’d often used the phrase “beyond imagination” up until now.
That was because he’d encountered so many extraordinary beings.
But without a doubt, no phrase fit better than this moment.
‘Not even the breath of the Earth Dragon could get close.’
The countless defensive magic arrays and barriers enveloping the entire Divine Palace were beyond even “impressive.”
‘If it were me?’
Seo Woojin couldn’t help sizing it up.
Imagining unleashing attack skills like ‘Earthly Demise’, ‘Yemma’, ‘Sky Sword’, ‘Twelve Heavenly Swords’...
‘No way through.’
Not a chance.
The ‘Beast of the Apocalypse’ he’d used yesterday didn’t seem to have made much impact here either, and the ‘Magic Nullification Proclamation’ he hadn’t tried yet probably wouldn’t do much damage.
Only one possibility.
‘Demon King Transformation’ might be different.
With the power that had blown off the Earth Dragon’s head with a single kick, it might just pierce through the Divine Palace’s immense magic...
‘But that’s a pointless hypothetical.’
He had no reason to attack this place anyway.
“Please, come inside.”
A middle-aged man in a suit approached Seo Woojin and spoke.
‘Like a steward or something?’
He wasn’t sure.
But since the man seemed to be there to greet him, Seo Woojin followed him into the Divine Palace.
‘Whoa.’
The interior was even more opulent.
Everything in sight gleamed with gold, and even to his untrained eye, there were countless priceless treasures.
‘If I sold just a few of these, I’d never have to worry about train fares for life.’
He trailed behind the steward with that idle thought, walking for quite a while until a massive door appeared.
He didn’t know what metal it was made of, but the door, infused with magic, looked incredibly sturdy at a glance.
“The hero, Seo Woojin, has arrived.”
The steward spoke politely toward the door, and a voice replied from within.
“Let him enter.”
Rumble—
At the same time, the firmly shut door began to slowly open.
The scene beyond was more modest than expected.
There were no lines of nobles staring at Seo Woojin, nor an emperor seated upon a lofty throne.
Just a study like any other.
A single old man wearing glasses was reviewing some documents.
“Please, go in.”
At the steward’s words, Seo Woojin hesitantly stepped inside.
‘Like an office?’
It reminded him of Agna’s he’d seen before.
Only a bit larger and more orderly.
“Sit.”
Unsure of imperial etiquette, he hesitated for a moment, but the old man removed his glasses, set them down, and pointed to the chair in front.
“Ah, yes.”
He felt relieved inwardly.
He’d been wondering if he needed to kneel or something.
Seo Woojin quickly sat and glanced at the old man.
His face was etched with the marks of time, but his eyes burned brightly.
“I’m pleased to meet you like this. I am the master of this empire.”
As expected, the old man was the emperor.
It was a bit different from what he’d imagined, but this felt more comfortable.
“I’m Seo Woojin.”
He greeted him politely and properly.
“This is the first time I’ve laid eyes on a hero in person.”
That was a little surprising.
He’d thought the emperor of the empire would have at least met someone like Baek Siwoo.
“It’s, an honor.”
Unfamiliar with this speech pattern, he stuttered a bit.
His face flushed red with embarrassment.
Seeing this, the emperor chuckled heartily.
“There’s no need to follow imperial protocol. Etiquette from your world will suffice.”
“...Understood.”
The emperor seemed to be making an effort to put Seo Woojin at ease.
Or perhaps that was just his nature.
“The reason I summoned you today is to ask one thing.”
Just as expected.
The emperor had called Seo Woojin to hear about yesterday morning’s incident.
“So, to explain from the beginning...”
He started from the moment he first met Baek Siwoo at the training grounds, recounting events in chronological order.
Naturally, he omitted mentioning the ‘Beast of the Apocalypse’ or that he knew Baek Siwoo was being corrupted by demonic energy.
He hadn’t lied, merely left those parts out, so there were no holes in the story.
At least, that’s what Seo Woojin thought.
“Hmm.”
The emperor closed his eyes and stroked his white beard.
It seemed like a habit when deep in thought.
‘No mistakes, I think.’
Meanwhile, Seo Woojin reviewed his own words.
Thanks to mulling it over nonstop during the carriage ride, nothing seemed amiss.
“This Baek Siwoo emitted demonic energy for the first time right then, you say?”
That was the emperor’s first question after pondering for a long while.
Seo Woojin nodded naturally, and the emperor sighed.
“I can’t fathom why he revealed his demonic energy to you, of all people, in that setting.”
If he’d wanted to hide it, he could have easily done so.
Yet Baek Siwoo had blatantly unleashed demonic energy in the middle of the academy, right in front of another hero.
The emperor couldn’t make sense of it.
That seemed to be his thinking.
“As I mentioned earlier, due to his inferiority complex...”
“For such a trivial reason?”
The emperor shook his head with a laugh, as if it were absurd.
“For the king of ten thousand demons, one of the lords of Pandemonium... such crude behavior is unbecoming.”
“Is that so?”
Seo Woojin asked without a change in expression.
“If he charged at you radiating demonic energy out of inferiority, it’d be more convincing to say a demon had taken root in his heart.”
Seo Woojin’s gut twisted at the emperor’s words.
Because that was the truth.
‘Does he know everything?’
Doubt began to creep in.
But the emperor didn’t seem to truly believe that.
The evidence of the Demon King had appeared, and Reina’s reaction had been unusual.
In fact, those two things made Baek Siwoo look even more like the real Demon King.
“You don’t know the true reason either, it seems.”
“That appears to be the case.”
Relieved inwardly, Seo Woojin replied in a much more relaxed tone without realizing it.
“Heh heh—”
The emperor burst into laughter.
Realizing his slip too late, Seo Woojin’s heart sank, but fortunately, the emperor didn’t seem inclined to reprimand him.
“Pay it no mind. It doesn’t bother me.”
Reassuring the watchful Seo Woojin, the emperor suddenly turned his head and spoke.
“Are you there?”
“At your command.”
When had he appeared?
Incredibly, someone had prostrated themselves beside the emperor without Seo Woojin noticing.
It was a knight clad in black light armor.
‘A guardian-level powerhouse?’
Anything less couldn’t have fooled Seo Woojin’s senses so perfectly.
Yet the energy emanating from him wasn’t that strong.
At best, upper-level knight class.
Not weak, but...
‘Does he have an ability like Rinar’s?’
That would explain it.
“Bring what I ordered prepared.”
As Seo Woojin examined the newcomer, the emperor issued a command.
‘What?’
What had he prepared?
From the tone and atmosphere, it didn’t seem bad for Seo Woojin.
“As you command.”
The knight vanished from sight the moment he replied.
“Huh!”
He disappeared right before his eyes.
‘Confirmed.’
No flow of magic at all, so the black knight definitely had the same ability as Rinar.
‘Impressive.’
Seo Woojin had been planning to train Rinar in that exact way.
He’d thought it a clever idea.
Yet the imperial court had long been employing hidden blades in the very same manner.
‘Nothing new under the sun, huh.’
He felt oddly deflated, like he was falling behind.
Swoosh—
In the meantime, the black knight reappeared.
Even with ‘Divine Dragon Eye’ active, scanning the surroundings, Seo Woojin hadn’t seen a thing.
He couldn’t help but admire it.
If that black knight willed it, few in the world could escape death.
Excluding guardian-level monsters and above, most wouldn’t even realize how they died.
‘How many such powers are they hiding?’
Far more numerous and potent than Seo Woojin imagined, no doubt.
Realizing anew the empire’s formidable strength, he looked at what the black knight had brought.
A long metal box.
Unusually white, it was etched with purple geometric patterns.
About 1.5 meters long.
Roughly 50 centimeters wide.
The first thing that came to mind was a sword.
The box’s shape screamed “sword storage,” and crucially, a sharp aura seeped through even the metal.
Gulp.
Seo Woojin swallowed dryly without thinking.
‘No way?’
Could it be the promised reward? A flicker of anticipation rose stealthily.
“I have brought it, Your Majesty.”
The black knight handed the metal box to the emperor with utmost deference.
“You’ve done well. Return to your duties.”
“As you command.”
With that, he vanished.
Seo Woojin had seen it several times now, but it was still astonishing.
He could no longer pay the black knight any mind, though.
His gaze was locked on the metal box.
‘Rune Dea broke, after all.’
It was the price of blocking Reina’s final strike.
He’d wielded that sword long enough to call it his beloved blade...
Now broken, he needed a new one.
“You seem excited.”
Seeing Seo Woojin’s sparkling eyes, the emperor smiled.
For a moment, he even looked like Santa Claus.
“This is the reward for that promise from before. It’s yours now—take it and open it.”
The emperor pushed the metal box forward.
“...Thank you.”
Seo Woojin accepted it politely with both hands, no refusals.
Its solid weight felt good.
“Infuse it with mana, and it should open.”
At the emperor’s words, Seo Woojin slowly poured mana into the box.
But the mana was sucked in endlessly.
More than several skill uses combined drained away before any change occurred.
The purple patterns began to glow faintly...
Click.
The lock released.
Whoosh—!
The lid opened, and as Seo Woojin predicted, a single sword appeared.
A long black sword, similar to the one Half Slaine had gifted him first.
But incomparable in quality, with purple mana—matching the box’s patterns—rippling along its length.
“‘Karaniell,’ the empire’s divine sword.”